Mortgage arrears ‘could rise’

The number of people falling into mortgage arrears problems could be set to rise over the coming weeks, one industry expert has advised.

According to national money advice officer for Citizens Advice Lisa Colclough, the financial charity has seen a rise in the number of consumers experiencing difficulties in making home loan repayments.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s PM programme, she said: "The majority of the debts that we see are consumer debts, so credit cards and Secured Loans, but we are seeing a worrying increase in people coming to us with mortgage arrears."

However, she reported that with increases in council tax and utility bills, a predicted increase to the base rate could cause even more borrowers to develop debt management difficulties and struggle to make secured home loan payments.

Ms Colclough added that a rise could have a "knock-on effect" and affect their ability to make everyday purchases or pay off credit cards and other forms of unsecured borrowing.

She also pointed to a Citizens Advice study conducted in September which revealed about 750,000 borrowers had missed at least one payment in the 12 previous months.

Research by Credit Action reveals that secured loans taken out against property accounted for £1,097 billion at the end of February, a rise of 11.6 per cent from the same period in 2006.

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